Drum handling apparatus



' g- 1960 E. R. KUGHLER I 2,948,428

DRUM HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 4, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. EDWIN R. KUGHLER I ATTbRNEYS m RM t 1.

1950 E. R. KUGHLER 2,948,428

DRUM HANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 4, 1957 FIG. 3 l4 I NV EN TOR. EDW\N R. KUGHLER ATTORNEYS 1960 E. R. KUGHLER 2,948,428

DRUM HANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 4, 195'? FIG. 6

INVENTOR. EDWIN R. KUGHLER IZTTORNEYS Mu 43am F A/w flitecl States Patent 2,948,428 DRUM HANDLING APPARATUS Edwin R. Kughler, 115-117 E. 129th St., New York, N.Y.

Filed Nov. 4, 1957, Ser. No. 694,277

11 Claims. (01. 214-653) signed to automatically pick up two drums standing on 1 end to grip the drums securely by an automatic gripping device which is held closed againstreleasing the drum by the weight of the drums whereby the drums may be carried up and down steep inclines and over rough surfaces without danger of dislodgment. The attachment described in my co-pending application has proven highly successful in commercial operation, but its use is somewhat limited in that to properly handle two drums at one operation the drums should be arranged side by side on the same level and a predetermined distance apart. Also with the apparatus of my pending application the two drums are picked up and released simultaneously.

. By means of one modification disclosed in this application the lift truck can handle two or more drums, can pick them up one at a time on different levels and discharge them one at a time on dilferent levels. 1 have also disclosed in this application a modification of my .drum handling attachment which can handle two drums stacked one on the other or four drums with two drums stacked on the other two.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my modified drum handling attachments in the preferred forms as now manufactured, and in said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a lift truck with one of my modified drum handling attachments secured thereto;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view partly in section of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the same apparatus adjusted for carrying three drums instead of two;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the drum handling apparatus of my prior application as modified to carry two drums with one drum supported on the head of the other drum;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevation of the attachment shown in Fig. 5 on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the mechanism below line 8-8 in Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a detail view on line 99 of Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 7 .and 9 wherein the drum handling attachment of my prior application is illustrated, 1 indicates the supporting mem- .ber which is attached to the elevating crosshead of the ,lift truck. Suitably mounted on the front faceof the supporting member are pivoted arcuate arms 2 which are supported by a horizontal stub sh aft 3 and vertical stub .shafts 4, so as to swing both vertically and horizontally. Also attached to each of the arms and to the adjacent por; :tion of the frame are tension springs STWhich tend to 2,948,428 Patented Aug. 9, 1960' "ice 2 hold the arms open when not supporting the drum. Als'o carried by each of the arms is a rearwardly projecting pin 6 which is positioned to press against-the adjacent-front face of the supporting member 1 when the arms are turned downwardly around the horizontal pivots 3' by the weight of the barrel. V

As explained in the above mentioned application the operator in using the truck with the attachments therein described moves the truck forward until the gripping arms contact the wall of the drum beneath one of the circum ferential ribs of the drum. He then elevates the lifting head of the truck and as the lifting head moves upwardly the upper surface of the gripping arms engages the under side of the rib of the drum, thereby tending to lift the drum. The arms, however, are held with their forward ends raised by the springs 5 so that during the initial lifting movement of the elevating member the grippingarms Z'are forced downwardly around their pivots 3, thereby pressing the ends of the pins 6 against the front face of the supporting member 1 and causing the arms to turn on their vertical pivots 4- and thereby firmly grip the drum immedately beneath the rib.

In the modification of this mechanism shown in Figs. l4, inclusive, I employ only one of the pivoted arms- 2 similar to the arm 2 shown in Figs. 7 and -8 for each drum to be handled, the other side of the drum being engaged by a fixed arm 10 supported on the lifting head in fixed relation to the supports for the movablearm. Each pair of arms, that is, one movable arm and one fixed arm, is carried by a horizontally adjustable frame 11, 11a, the frames being separately adjustable toward and away from each other preferably by hydraulic pressure derived from the lift truck.

As shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5,'the head '11 is supported by two shoes 12 of circular cross section, which shoes are mounted to slide in horizontal tubular tracks 13 supported on a frame 16 which is clamped to the elevating 1 head. of the lift truck. The head 11a is similarly sup: ported by shoes sliding in tubular tracks 13a. "The four tracks are parallel and in the same vertical plane so-thatthe head 11 is supported above the headlla a distance somewhat greater than the vertical dimension of the fixed arm 10 as shown more particularly in Fig. 2. 1 For shifting the heads 11, lla 'hydraulic cylinders 14,. 14a -are-provided, their pistons being connected by rods; 15, 15a to the heads 11, 11a, respectively. V. 1

The piping and valves for the cylinders are not shown' but it will be understood that each head may be separately shifted to any position within its range of movement and locked in such position. a 71 By placing the drum gripping members at different levels on the vertically movable cross head the truck can pick up two drums so closely adjacent to each other that their ribs are in actual contact. When so positioned the. fixed arms are in the same vertical plane so that both I fixed ar-ms can project between the walls of the two ad-' jacent drums even though the ribs of the drum are in contact. When the truck is moved forward so that the fixed arms do so project into the space between the two drums and the head is elevated, the pivoted arm attached to the upper horizontally adjustable frame will first engage, the overlying rib of the drum and thereby in the manner. above described, will be moved inwardly about its vertie cal pivot 4 and thereby grip the drum againstthe gripping arm. The continued upward As the upward movement of the cross head continues the pivoted-arm of the gripping mechanismattached-to: the lower horizontally adjustableframe'will in the same: manner be caused to move inwardly with respect to' the? frame thereby gripping the second drurnfand lifting. the

' second also as shown more particularly in Fig. 2,

movement ofothe The two drums can thus be transported by the truck with 7 one drum slightly above the other, which arrangement permits one drum to be released without release of the other. That is to say, when the elevating head is lowered the second drum tojbe picked up will contact the floor or ground before the first drum and will thereby be released while the first drum is still gripped by the carrier; Further downward movement of the cross head will release the second'drum but if desired the second drum may be carried to a different point of delivery.

To carry three drums at one time the horizontally ad- J'lllstable cross heads are adjusted a sufiicient distance apart for the fixed arms to permit a third drum to pass between them when the truck is moved against the row of drums. As the head is elevated the uppermost of the pivoted arms will engage beneath the rib of the outermost drum on that side of the truck, thereby causing the arm to be swung inwardly to grip the outermost drum on that side. Continued upward movement of the cross head will bring the uppermost of the fixed arms against the ribs of the above mentioned drum and also the middle drum, thereby lifting the gripped drum and also lifting the middle drum on one side, thereby lifting the middle drum to a limited extent before it is lifted bodily. As the upward movement continues the pivoted arm at the other side of the frame will engage the rib on the third barrel and be thereby swung inwardly, gripping the third barrel and forcing it against the second fixed :arm and the intermediate barrel. All three barrels will then be tightly gripped with the third barrel supported at a lower level than the other two. i

The three barrels may be transported to the same place or each barrel may be separately deposited. That is to say, the last barrel picked up will be fully released before either of the other two touch the ground. I The middle barrel after the first barrel to be released has been deposited will touch the ground somewhat before the first barrel, due to its tilted position, and if the lowering movement of the cross head is stopped when the middle barrel touches the ground the truck may be backed away from the middle barrel, carrying with it the first barrel to be picked up.

The mechanism for handling two barrels positioned one on top of the other consists of the double arm single barrel gripping mechanism shown in Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 as above described with a second barrel engaging member overlying the mechanism for gripping the lowermost barrel, this second member comprising two fixed arms 17 positioned to embrace the upper barrel, the arms extending forward slightly beyond the transverse diameter of the barrel, the arms being provided at their forward ends with upwardly projecting pins 18 positioned to project in front of the rib of the drum when the cross head of the lift truck is elevated to bring the arms into engagement with the under side of the rib and the drum. These upwardly projecting pins extend in front of the rib of the barrel at its point of maximum diameter, as shown particularly in Fig. 7, and thereby prevent the upper of the two barrels from being dislodged by jarring or movement of the truck up or down inclined ramps and the like. The upper arms are preferably detachable from the cross head of the truck and to that end the arms are fixed to a vertical standard 19, which standard has a sliding fit between the vertical ribs on the front face of the cross head. Channel sections 21 are attached to the edges of the standard 19 and are held in engagement with the top of the upper ends of the ribs 20 by latches 22 as shown in Fig. 8. Overlying the ribs and latches is a cover plate 23 which is attached to the front face of the cross head and spaced therefrom by end members 24, as shown in Fig. 7.

' As will be noted in Fig. 7, the movable arms 2 and fixed arms 17 are spaced apart just the distance of the height of the drum so that when the lower drum is elevated off the ground by the movable arms the fixed arms will just engage the-under side of the same rib of the upper drum 4 corresponding to the rib of the lower drum which is engaged by the movable arms 2.. In this position the pins 18 at the ends of the fixed arms 17 will project in front of the overlying rib of the upper drum and thereby hold the upper drum against horizontal movement while the drums are transported by the truck.

In Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 I have shown the truck as equipped with attachments for lifting only one pair of drums but it will be understood that the attachment for the upper of the two drums may be used in conjunction with the drum handling apparatus of my former application where in two or more drums in the same horizontal plane are carried at onetime.

It will also be understood that whereas in the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings 1 have illustrated the preferred form of my improvements as now designed by me, the invention is not limited to such specific design but includes all modifications thereof which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: V

1. Drum handling attachments for lift trucks and the like comprising a supporting member for attachment to said truck or the like, drum gripping members mounted thereon for pivotal movement in both vertical and horizontal planes, means for normally holding the unloaded gripping members in their upwardly tilted positions, means for causing said arms to move toward each other upon the relatively upward movment of said supporting member with respect to a drum whose rim is engaged by' the said members, stationary drum engaging means intermediate said movable arms whereby the upward movement of the attachment when said pivoted arms are in engagement with the under side of the rims of two adjacent barrels will cause said arms to swing inwardly and grip said barrel against said stationary means.

2. The attachment of claim 1 wherein the stationary drum engaging means comprises an arm for each of said drum gripping members, each said arm being fixedly supported with respect to its drum gripping member and in the same horizontal plane.

3. The attachment of claim 2 wherein two of thedrum gripping members and their co-operating fixed arms are in different horizontal planes.

4. The attachment of claim 2 wherein two of the drum gripping members and their co-operating fixed arms are relatively adjustable horizontally.

5. The attachment of claim 3 wherein two of the drum gripping members and their co-operating fixed arms are relatively adjustable horizontally.

6. The attachment of claim 3, wherein the range of adjustment is from a position with the fixed arms in the same vertical plane to a position where such arms are separated by a rfistance equal to the diameter of the drums to be handled.

7. Drum handling attachments for lift trucks and the like comprising a supporting member for attachment to said truck or the like, drum gripping members mounted thereon for movement in vertical and horizontal planes, means for causing said gripping members to move toward and away from each other upon relative vertical movement of said supporting member and said gripping members, stationary drum engaging members intermediate said movable arms whereby when said pivoted arms are beneath the rims of two adjacent barrels and swung inwardly they will grip said barrels against said stationary means, two of said movable drum gripping members and their co-operating members being respectively in different horizontal planes.

8. The attachment of claim 7 wherein two of the drum gripping members and their co-operating fixed members are relatively adjustable horizontally.

9. The attachment of claim 8 wherein the range 'of adjustment is from a position with the fixed arms in the same vertical plane to a position where such arms are separated by a distance equal to the diameter of the drums to be handled.

10. Drum handling attachments for lift trucks and the like comprising a supporting member for attachment to said truck or the like, drum gripping members mounted thereon for pivotal movement in both vertical and horizontal planes, springs normally holding said gripping members in their upper positions, means for causing said gripping members to move toward each other upon the relatively upward movement of said supporting member, drum engaging arms mounted on said supporting member and positioned vertically above said movable arms whereby the upward movement of the supported member when said pivoted arms are in engagement with the under side of the rim of a drum will cause said arms to swing in wardly and grip said drum, while a second drum resting on said first mentioned drum is held by said second mentioned arms 11. The attachment of claim 10 wherein said second mentioned drum engaging arms are provided with projections positioned to extend in front of a rim of said drum when the drum is lifted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,497,118 Ferrario et a1. Feb. 14, 1950 

